Brookstone Reports 2012 Sales, Comp Store Gains

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Brookstone, Inc. has announced a 4.6% net sales gain to $519.6 million for its fiscal year ended December 29, 2012, along with a comparable store sales gain of 4.5%. The company also reported that adjusted EBITDA decreased 25.7% to $18.4 million compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

For the 2012 fourth quarter, the company reported that net sales decreased 8% to $232.8 million and comp sales decreased 3.5%.

For the full 2012 fiscal year, Brookstone indicated that net sales in the Alternative Distribution channel, which includes its wholesale business, increased $14.1 million, or 51.4%, to $41.6 million compared to same period in 2011. For the fourth quarter, the company’s net sales in the Alternative Distribution channel decreased $3.4 million, or 24.3%, to $10.7 million versus the 2011 fourth. The company attributed the increase for the full fiscal year to an increase in sales to its wholesale partners that purchased Brookstone products for sale in their retail stores and channels, while the fourth quarter decrease was due to the timing of shipments to its wholesale partners as compared to last year's period. The company indicated it continues to focus on expanding its revenue streams through alternative channels.

Net sales in its e-Commerce channel increased $9 million, or 9.3%, to $105.4 million for the 2012 fiscal year. For the 2012 fourth quarter, net sales in the e-Commerce channel decreased $1.3 million, or 2.1%, to $60.1 million.

“Our results were offset in the fourth quarter by reduced year over year catalog circulation and a reduction in shipping and handling revenues as we responded to consumer demand with discounted shipping programs,” the company said in announcing the results.

For its Retail channel, the company said 2012 fiscal year net sales decreased $0.3 million, or 0.1%, to $372.6 million, and comps increased 1.7% as compared to the 2011 fiscal year. For the fourth quarter, net sales in the Retail channel decreased $15.4 million, or 8.7%, to $162 million and comps decreased 6.3% as compared to the 2011 fourth quarter.

The company said its Retail division net sales results, “were impacted by the soft holiday selling season broadly experienced by retailers, driven by consumers' uncertainty about the economy, the potential fiscal cliff, and the U.S. Presidential election, as well as a net decrease in the number of stores from 294 to 278 as compared to fiscal year 2011.”

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